UPDATED: Allen Lund, president and CEO of the transportation company that bears his name, died April 7.
He was 77, and still very active in the company he founded in 1976, said his son Kenny, vice president of operations at Allen Lund Co. He had been diagnosed with a rare and fast-moving cancer recently.
Kenny Lund said the company is a family company and not just in the sense that he and other Lund relatives work there, but because his father treated everyone there as family, down to the birthday cards each one receives.
“Little things like that were big things to him,” Kenny Lund said.
Allen Lund was passionate about the trucking industry, but particularly excited about produce and the challenges that perishable shipments pose. He took many roles at the Transportation Intermediaries Association and its predecessor, including a “Broker Boot Camp” conference session that became so popular the association “took it on the road,” Kenny Lund said.
“People flocked to that session because they wanted to hear what he had to say,” he said
Many times, that advice was passed on directly, with Allen Lund fielding long phone calls.
“He always made time for the industry, even if it was a competitor,” Kenny Lund said.
His father’s motto, “Do the right thing, all the time,” underscored his belief that integrity is everything, Kenny Lund said.
Lund started the company with just $1,000 in the bank, according to an obituary from the company, which has grown to 34 offices across the country and 470 employees who broker 365,000 loads a year.
He has received numerous awards, including the transportation association’s Heritage Award and recognition from the city of La Canada Flintridge, Calif., where the company is based.
A Mass of Christian Burial is April 14 at the Cathedral of our Lady of Angels in Los Angeles. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Carmelite Sisters, Sacred Heart Retreat House, 920 E. Alhambra Rd,. Alhambra, Calif., 91801.
